This is a lesson about magnetism in solar flares. Learners will map magnetic fields around bar magnets and investigate how this configuration relates to magnetic fields of sunspots. This activity requires compasses, bar magnets, and a equipment for...(View More) the instructor to project a PowerPoint or pdf lecture presentation. This is Activity 1 in the Exploring Magnetism in Solar Flares teachers guide.(View Less)

This is an activity about the periodic reversals of Earth's magnetic field. Learners will graph the frequency of magnetic pole reversals over the past 800,000 years and investigate answers to questions using the graphed data. This is Activity 8 in...(View More) the Exploring Magnetism on Earth teachers guide.(View Less)

This is an activity about vectors and velocity. It outlines the addition and subtraction of vectors, and introduces the application of trigonometry to describing vectors. The resource is designed to support student analysis of THEMIS (Time History...(View More) of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) Magnetometer line-plot data. Learners will complete worksheets consisting of problem sets that allow them to work with vector data in magnetic fields. This is activity 15 from Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality.(View Less)

This is an activity about sunspots and solar flares. Learners will work collaboratively to create abstracts detailing their knowledge of sunspots and solar flares and then present their work to the entire audience. A background understanding of our...(View More) Sun and its features is needed prior to starting this activity. This is activity 4 in Exploring Magnetism in Solar Flares.(View Less)

This is an activity about magnetic fields. Learners will study magnetic fields at four separate stations: examining magnetic fields generated by everyday items, mapping out a magnetic field using a compass, creating models of Earth's and Jupiter's...(View More) magnetic fields, and observing aurora produced by magnetic fields on both planets. This activity is part of Explore! Jupiter's Family Secrets, a series designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and informal learning environments. (Note: the activity was adapted for informal education from Magnetic Globe, by Sonoma State University, and Exploring Magnetism, by Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley)(View Less)

This is an activity about the Kp index, a quantification of fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field due to the relative strength of a magnetic storm. Learners will take a reading from a magnetometer site and make a Kp index estimate to predict...(View More) whether or not an aurora display will occur near that site. This resource is designed to support student analysis of THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) Magnetometer line-plot data. This activity requires the use of a computer with Internet access. This is activity 18 in Exploring Magnetism: Earth’s Magnetic Personality.(View Less)

This is an activity about how to measure the interplanetary magnetic field, or IMF. Learners will act as scientists and engineers at a conference to explain their discoveries from earlier activities of the larger resource where they designed their...(View More) own ways to measure the IMF. This activity should be used to illustrate how scientists and engineers working with the NASA STEREO-IMPACT mission have solved the same puzzle. This is Activity 3 in Session 3 of a larger resource, Exploring Magnetism in the Solar Wind.(View Less)

This is an activity about the magnetic fields of the Sun and Earth, and the interplanetary magnetic field, or IMF. Learners will engage in a question and answer dialogue, make connections using bar magnet examples and overhead transparencies, and...(View More) ultimately write an assessment of concepts learned. This is Activity 1 in Session 3 of the Exploring Magnetism in the Solar Wind teachers guide.(View Less)

This is an activity about measuring the interplanetary magnetic field, or IMF. Learners will utilize cardboard boxes with a magnet inside to design a spacecraft, and experiment with ways to attach a magnetometer that will measure the IMF rather than...(View More) the magnetic field of the spacecraft. This is Activity 2 in Session 3 of the Exploring Magnetism in the Solar Wind teachers guide.(View Less)

This is an activity about using spectrogram plots as an indicator of magnetic activity on Earth. Learners will analyze spectrogram data and compare it to local Kp indices in an attempt to determine global magnetic storminess. This activity uses real...(View More) data from the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) Magnetometer, and requires a computer with Internet access. This is activity 20 in the Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality teachers guide.(View Less)

This is an activity about the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) magnetometer and its ability to reveal many different types of disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field. Learners will work with vector...(View More) data using THEMIS XYZ plots to complete two student worksheets: Activity A analyzes data to determine if the Earth's magnetic field is slowly weakening, and Activity B analyzes data to determine whether the Earth's magnetic pole is moving. This is activity 19 in Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality.(View Less)

This is a lesson plan for an activity to introduce several terms scientists use to discuss Earth's magnetic field. Learners will explore a website, read about the main features and regions of the Earth's magnetosphere and its functioning within the...(View More) Sun-Earth system, and compile a lab book in which to keep notes about Earth's magnetosphere, space weather, and magnetometer data. This resource is Activity 12 of Exploring Magnetism: Magnetic Mysteries of the Aurora.(View Less)

This is an activity about the properties and characteristics of Earth’s magnetic field as shown through magnetometer data and its 3D vector nature. This resource builds understanding of conceptual tools such as the addition of vectors and...(View More) interpreting contour maps displaying magnetic signature data. Learners will make several paper 3D vector addition models, watch podcasts on how to analyze magnetometer data, and employ 3D vector plots to create a model of the 3D magnetic field in the location of the magnetometer closest to their town. This is a multi-step activity with corresponding worksheets for each step. The activity uses data from the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) GEONS magnetometer, and requires the use of a computer with internet access and speakers, 2-inch polystyrene balls and bamboo skewers. This is activity 16 from Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality.(View Less)

This is a lesson to introduce the Kp index, a common numerical indicator of magnetic storminess. Learners will access and analyze Kp index plots of magnetic storm strength and determine the relative frequency of stronger versus weaker magnetic...(View More) storms during years of maximum solar activity. This resource is activity 13 from the Magnetic Mysteries of the Aurora teachers guide. Internet access is required for this activity.(View Less)

This is an activity about changes in the Earth's magnetic field during magnetic storms. Learners will construct a soda bottle magnetometer, collect data, and analyze the results to detect magnetic storm events. The operation of the student-created...(View More) instrument can be directly related to THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) display measurements. In this activity, learners should ideally collect data over the course of an entire month. This is activity 17 in Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality.(View Less)

This is an activity about mapping magnetic fields. Learners use a test magnet to create a map of the magnetic field region around a bar magnet. A Magnaprobe, or other similar test magnet, is required to do this activity. This is the third activity...(View More) in the Mapping Magnetic Influence educators guide.(View Less)

This is a presentation to be used by educators to teach about the Sun and its effects on Earth's magnetosphere, including characteristics of coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, the aurora, and solar wind. A web link to a PDF or PowerPoint presentation...(View More) is supplied, along with background information for the instructor. After the presentation, learners will read about various aspects of the Sun-Earth connection and write about one aspect that they found interesting from the presentation and the printed information. Internet access is required to obtain the presentation resources. This resource is Activity 14 of the Magnetic Mysteries of the Aurora teachers guide.(View Less)

This is an activity about using models to solve a problem. Learners will build four models of the MMS satellites using fabrication software. Their designs will based upon observations and data collected through prior activities (in the educator's...(View More) guide). To complete this activity, fabrication software is required (an example is given in the activity). This is the eighth and final activity as part of the iMAGiNETICspace: Where Imagination, Magnetism, and Space Collide educator's guide. Instructions for downloading the iBook educator's guide and the associated Transmedia book student guide are available at the resource link.(View Less)

Students will test various materials to determine if any can shield their "magnetometer" (compass) from an external magnetic field using their own experimental design. If no suitable material is available, they will devise another method to protect...(View More) their instrument. Includes background science for the teacher, worksheets, adaptations and extensions. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are also identified.(View Less)